


Snap & Stir

by cherrybombtriestowrite



Category: Wanna One (Band)
Genre: M/M, chef daniel, photographer ong
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-08-30
Updated: 2018-01-15
Packaged: 2018-12-21 16:30:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,468
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11948166
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/cherrybombtriestowrite/pseuds/cherrybombtriestowrite
Summary: Being a wedding photographer, Ong Seongwoo's favorite part in these events is the food served. That is, until he finds that the person making the food is even better.





	1. kimbap

**Author's Note:**

> written on impulse as i procrastinate on my wip fic lmao hope y'all will like this short cheezy one!

The kitchen. When one is at a wedding, the kitchen is the last place you’d think of visiting. But in the case of Ong Seongwoo, a fairly seasoned wedding photographer, that’s exactly where he wishes to visit at every wedding. With his protege and fan Guanlin in tow, he steps into the wedding hall with a lot of hope. Hope that the pictures come out well, sure, but also that the chef for the wedding will be a good one. He doesn’t personally know the bride or groom, but they’re from rich families and Seongwoo is already salivating from the thought of the kinds of food they’d possibly serve. _I’d kill for a galbi right now._

“Hyung, where should I put these?” Guanlin asks, breaking him from his daydream involving him and a table of food (kind of like The Last Supper but he's the only person there). 

Looking around, Seongwoo shrugs and says, “It’s still a little early so just stay by the side. Find a table and set up what you can.”

“Roger that.” Guanlin nods enthusiastically. He heads towards a table but stops in his tracks when he sees Seongwoo walking towards a different reaction. “Hyung, where are you going?”

Smiling proudly, Seongwoo tugs on his denim jacket and announces, “The kitchen.”

The kitchen of these grand ballrooms and hotels are always the same: hectic. Everyone’s running around and shouting, the sounds of spatulas against woks and pans, sizzles and fire. Seongwoo loves it. He usually takes the camera with him to document it, though there were occasions where he was kicked out for being a nuisance. The kitchen in this hotel is spacious, fitting a lot of people at once. It makes Seongwoo happy because his presence will be more hidden this way. The cooking has started, the aroma of familiar wedding cuisines filling the air. Seongwoo could almost jump in excitement.

Slipping in undetected, Seongwoo holds up his camera and takes a picture of a young kitchen assistant ( _what do you call these people? sous chef? I don’t watch enough Food Network for this,_ Seongwoo wonders to himself) with red hair. He is in front of a big pot, pouring in condiments and such to prepare a sauce, perhaps. Seongwoo captures him in his element - focused and precise. Seongwoo even has the time to grab some rice cakes that happened to be outside -  _maybe they’re test runs? No harm in eating one or two_  - and walks around with his camera and full cheeks.

“Are you here with the mushrooms?” 

Seongwoo almost chokes on a piece of rice cake when he hears a voice speaking dangerously closely behind him. He turns around with a guilty smile that is quickly replaced by a delighted smile as he finds that it isn’t a big scary burly chef like the one that kicked him out last month. Instead, before him is a broad-shouldered man about his age in a black chef coat. His hair is brown and his skin is fair - milky would be a word to describe it. His pink lips stands out, but Seongwoo is mostly just overwhelmed by how tall and handsome he is.

The chef looks at the camera hung around Seongwoo’s neck and chuckles. His smile is bright and his teeth are charmingly arranged with his front teeth protruding a little. Seongwoo’s heart does a little leap.

 “Ah, I guess not.” The chef scratches the back of his head. “Are you the photographer? Why are you here?”

Finally able to arrange his thoughts after gawking at the chef, Seongwoo answers, “I am the photographer, yes. I’m just here because...”

 _I like watching wedding food being prepared? I love eating? How do I answer that without sounding like a weirdo?_  Seongwoo muses and sighs. While waiting for Seongwoo to answer, Daniel grabs a light towel from his apron pocket and puts it on his head. Swiftly like he’s done this a lot, he wraps it around his head like the Japanese chefs at sushi places usually do. For some reason, it makes Seongwoo clutch on his stomach in fear of the butterflies escaping.

“I came here to photograph you.” Seongwoo blurts out. Half of him wants to high five himself, while the other half wants to slap himself. He mostly just wants to high five his own face.

The chef laughs heartily at this and pats Seongwoo’s shoulder adoringly. “I doubt anyone would want a picture of the chef in their wedding photobook.”

Walking away, the chef carries a big bag of sticky rice with him. Seongwoo hurriedly follows behind him and says, “B-but food is a big part of weddings. They would want some photos of...you know, behind the scenes and stuff.”

Giving him a skeptic look, Daniel scoffs. “Sure.”

“I’m serious!” Seongwoo replies with a smile. He then playfully adds, “And if they know what a good looking chef they have in the kitchen...”

A loud laugh escapes the chef’s mouth, stabbing Seongwoo in the heart like a hundred needles. Seongwoo clutches on his heart, almost physically feeling the pain. The chef wipes an imaginary tear from his eye and says, “If you find  _me_ good looking, I can’t imagine what you’d feel if you look into a mirror.”

Smirking, Seongwoo knows he’s on the right path when he receives that compliment. “I know how I look like, don’t worry.”

Gently pushing Seongwoo a little, the chef reaches for the knife on the counter. He grabs a big slab of meat and slams it down on the board. Seongwoo can already imagine the kinds of food it can be cooked for. He stares at the change in the chef’s gaze when he’s holding the knife. Expertly, the chef cuts the meat into thin slices, making sure it’s the same size and nothing more, nothing less. Seongwoo holds his camera up and starts taking pictures, not thinking much. The chef steals a glance once in a while, slightly distracted in a way that most people don’t like candid photos.

“Don’t worry, you look great.” Seongwoo remarks, noticing the glances. Putting the camera back down, Seongwoo threads lightly when he asks, “So...does the chef have a name or do I have to continue addressing you as ‘the chef’ in my head?”

The chef laughs again, making Seongwoo happy because his ultimate goal in life is to make people laugh. He isn’t looking to be a comedian, but it’s just the aspect of human beings he likes. Laughter. The chef stops to sharpen the knife a little and shyly replies, “Kang Daniel.”

 _How is his name also perfect?_  “Can I call you Niel?”

“Do whatever you like, photographer-sshi.”

“Aren’t you going to ask for my name?”

The chef sighs and complies, “What is your name?”

“Ong Seongwoo.”

“Ong?”

“Oh! You got it right the first time.”

“I’ve never met an Ong in my life.”

“I’m glad I’m your first, then.”

Smiling at how Seongwoo is bowing, Daniel scratches his forehead shyly. He has been shocked since he met this photographer, but he’s continuously surprised by how this handsome man is following him.  _Does he want free food, is that it?_  Daniel watches as Seongwoo lifts his camera up once more. Daniel isn’t camera shy, but being captured by someone this ridiculously handsome makes him nervous. He looks away and starts cutting the meat again. He looks up to find Park Woojin, his young assistant sending him curious looks from the other side of the counter. Daniel looks away as his cheeks along with his ears are tinted red. He’s sure half the kitchen notices the handsome photographer following him by now.

“Stop taking pictures of me, I’m sure there are better looking chefs in the kitchen right now.” Daniel suggests, pointing at the rest of the kitchen with his knife. He’s referring to the likes of Hwang Minhyun and Bae Jinyoung, who puts his visuals to shame.

Chuckling at this attempt to get rid of him, Seongwoo shakes his head. “Are you sure? I see none.”

“Maybe you need glasses.”

“I’m wearing contacts, thank you.”

Sighing at the fact that there’s no getting rid of Seongwoo, Daniel finishes up with the meat and grabs another slab. He grabs a cleaver this time to chop up some ribs. He gestures to Seongwoo to step back in fear of some splattered pieces. Seongwoo finds it to be the second coolest thing he’s done so far (the first being when he tied the towel around his head).

Another chef, probably a senior of Daniel’s, asks from across the counter, “Daniel-ah, who is this photographer?”

Seongwoo takes it upon himself to introduce himself, bowing at the man before saying, “Ong Seongwoo, wedding photographer.”

The older chef nods and asks, “Here to take behind the scene pictures?”

“You bet!” Seongwoo replies. He points at Daniel and adds, “Also, to take some fan shots of your best looking chef.”

The older chef laughs and nods. “Take it easy, Daniel’s already as red as the meat.”

Seongwoo turns around to see that it is in fact true. It’s adorable how red Daniel is, frowning at the other chef for pointing it out. “Jisung hyung, don’t you have a stew to prepare?”

Pretending to be rushing to his stove, Jisung runs about. Seongwoo laughs at this, capturing the candid and lively moment in the kitchen. When he turns towards Daniel again, he manages to capture the chef smiling so brightly that Seongwoo might need to tune the exposure down. 

“Have you ever considered modeling?” Seongwoo asks the chef who has moved on to chopping some other things, mushroom and such.

“I don’t think I have the built.” Daniel shyly replies.

“Are you kidding me? You have the longest legs.” Seongwoo points out. It is true, as he has been unashamedly checking out how great Daniel’s legs look like in those dress pants with the apron up front.

“Yes, but I’ve got a huge upper body.” Daniel shrugs.

“That isn’t a bad thing.”

They share a look for a bit, which might translate to a similar message but Daniel looks away immediately with a flustered look. He brings the bowl of chopped up items and walks towards another station, where another very handsome chef is at. He whispers something at Daniel, in which Daniel replies saying he’s only met Seongwoo a few minutes ago. Seongwoo bows at him and introduces himself once more.

“I’m Hwang Minhyun.” The other chef bows back. Seongwoo notices that all the other chefs have proper head wear on, except for Daniel who opts for the towel. 

Daniel moves away once more to be at one of the stoves, turning on the fire. He warns, “It’s going to be hot.”

Seongwoo bites his lips but fails to hold back the comment, “I'm used to it, I’ve been standing next to you for minutes now.”

Shaking his head, Daniel sighs as he puts a wok over the fire and pours oil in it. As he moves the woke around to spread the oil, he blatantly asks, “I like your company, I really do, but is there any way I could get rid of you right now?”

“Absolutely not. I love watching people in their element.”

“What if I said Minhyun hyung is my boyfriend?”

“I’d be sad, but that can’t be true.”

“Why not?”

“Because  _I know_  we’re meant to be. It’s fate. You have  _got to_  be single right now.”

Daniel scoffs out loud, unable to register such a weird but cute claim. Woojin approaches Daniel with a bowl of noodles but Seongwoo stops him and asks if Daniel is single. The kitchen assistant nods and unhesitantly adds, “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him with a girlfriend or boyfriend.”

A smug look creeping on his face, Seongwoo acts touched as he mutters, “Fate sure works mysteriously.”

Groaning at how Woojin couldn’t even lie for him, Daniel grabs the noodles and continues cooking. He explains, “I’ve been busy working.”

“Oh,” Seongwoo leans against the counter next to the stove and remarks, “me too.”

“Well, you clearly have the time to be bugging a chef at work.” Daniel raises an eyebrow. 

Seongwoo smiles and nods. “For you, I have all the time in the world.”

But just as he’s getting closer to getting Daniel to open up, Seongwoo’s efforts crumbles when Guanlin storms in and calls out for him. Daniel giggles at how right the timing is and cocks his head at Seongwoo. “Guess you don’t.”

“I’ll come find you soon.” Seongwoo tells him and tries to wink but fails because he has yet to do it without moving all his facial features with it. It’s a cute attempt anyways, judging by the smile Daniel tries to hold back after witnessing it.

Daniel doesn’t want to say he’s sad that Seongwoo is leaving for his job already - he should be glad because he can cook without disturbances now - but seeing Seongwoo walk away is a little sad.  _Don’t be dumb_ , he tells himself. Disobeying his own thoughts, Daniel grabs the kimbap roll Jisung made earlier for a test run and rushes over to grab Seongwoo by the hand. Turning around, the biggest delighted grin graces Seongwoo’s face at the sight of Daniel holding his hand. Not wasting any time, Daniel shoves the kimbap piece into Seongwoo’s mouth, shocking the photographer. 

“I-if you come back later,” Daniel backs away slowly with a sheepish smile on his face and says, “I’ll make sure to save you some food.”

Half chewing and half grinning, Seongwoo nods as he backs away as well towards the exit. Guanlin eventually has to drag him out by the collar of his shirt because he wouldn’t leave. The whole kitchen lets out a low ‘woo’ at Daniel who pretends to not be excited for the wedding to be over.

 

 

 

_xxxxx_

_seongwoo is right. fate does work mysteriously_

xxxxx

 

 

 

“I think I’ve seen Ong more times this week than I’ve seen my parents all year.” Jisung groans out loud. Entering the kitchen just before he made that accurate claim is indeed Ong Seongwoo, moonwalking. 

“Don’t act like I don’t make your day so much better, Jisung hyung.” Seongwoo says, shrugging as he walks past the chef.

Woojin looks up from his attempt at decorating a plate and smiles at the sight of Seongwoo. He waves at the photographer who has been one of the friendliest hyungs he’s met outside the kitchen. Minhyun notices Seongwoo’s entrance as well, putting down the ladle in his hand to greet the man, “Oh, Ong? Where did you come in from?”

Seongwoo points at the pantry. Minhyun tilts his head with a confused expression.

“What?”

“I thought you came from the back door or something.”

“No, I came a little early before you guys. Decided to chill in the pantry.”

“But why?”

“...why do you think?”

Minhyun finds himself getting more and more lost in this conversation. “Where’s Daniel?”

Laughing like the seasoned old man he is, Jisung butts in, “Daniel always takes his own sweet time, doesn’t he?”

Just in time, Daniel stumbles out through the pantry door while buttoning the few top buttons of his chef coat. He runs a hand through his messy hair and walks towards where a confused Minhyun is standing with an amused Seongwoo. 

Seongwoo smooths down a few stubborn strands on Daniel’s hair and chuckles as he mutters a low ‘sorry’.

Rolling his eyes, Daniel takes out his favorite towel and puts it on his head to tie it. He angrily (cutely) says, “I’m not doing it again.”

“ _Ever_ again? Or just in there?”

“ _Just in there_. It’s so gross.”

Seongwoo laughs, but he turns to look at how confused Minhyun still looks and laughs even harder. He pats Minhyun’s shoulder and says, “I’ll let you figure this out yourself, man. Nice seeing you!”

After giving a goodbye kiss on his boyfriend’s cheek, Seongwoo leaves the kitchen and yells a ‘goodbye’ to everyone. His loud voice awakens Jinyoung who fell asleep waiting for the oven, while the others yell out a ‘goodbye’ back. Minhyun is still standing there, but this time with a shocked expression on his face.

“Daniel!” Minhyun exclaims and slaps Daniel’s arm. “NOT the pantry!"


	2. okonomiyaki

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Seongwoo insists that a cooking lesson is better than a normal restaurant date.
> 
> aka just seongwoo being annoying

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This happens before the ~pantry thing~ and after they met in the kitchen.
> 
> look @ me ignoring my more important wips n working on this fic AGAIN

**_Ding dong!_ **

Having stepped out of the shower for 10 minutes now, Daniel has only managed to put on his boxers. He sits on his bed with a towel around his neck and his attention towards his TV. With a jelly string sticking out his mouth, he is fully focused on the game he’s playing, scared of ruining his record. 

**_Ding dong!_ **

Groaning, Daniel has no choice but to leave the game and get the door. He doesn’t even bother to put on something decent, already knowing who’s at the door. Minhyun is supposed to hand him his chef coat he left at his place. The story behind it was he stayed over after a night of celebrating Jaehwan finally getting a record deal (after years of busking and singing at weddings) and Daniel, as expected, got everyone too drunk with his wide range of alcohol supplies. He left his favorite black chef coat because Jaehwan wore it all night long as he sang more songs than he’s ever sung in his life. 

“I’m coming, I’m coming!” Daniel exclaims as he rushes towards the door and unlocks it. Standing behind his door though, is not who he thought it would be. If anything, it’s the last person Daniel thinks would show up at his doorstep. He says the name that immediately appears in his mind, “O-Ong Seongwoo?”

Standing there in all his handsome glory is none other than the photographer Daniel met at a wedding two weeks ago. He is still as handsome as Daniel remembers him to be, maybe even more because he styled his hair a little differently today. 

They did end up meeting after the wedding, as Daniel had subtly hinted to. Minhyun invited him to join their usual post-event drinks, where Seongwoo spew one too many chef pick up lines towards Daniel. Daniel has a higher alcohol tolerance compared to most people, so while drunk Seongwoo was embarrassing himself, a quite sober Daniel had to watch it all painfully. Seongwoo’s amazing good looks was his only saving grace, which led him to earning one (1) kiss from Daniel on the cheek. Daniel left early that night as he had to return to Busan the next morning, much to Seongwoo’s dismay. It was only while he was trying to sleep on the train the next morning when Daniel’s mind reminded him of a very important fact: he never got Seongwoo’s digits. He could only wish his friends were great wingmen, which probably proves to be true with the appearance of Ong Seongwoo on his doorstep. 

“I always thought chefs would be a little chubby, what with all the good food they make.” Seongwoo remarks, his eyes not leaving the sightly view that is Daniel’s torso. In fact, while Daniel stood there frozen, Seongwoo had the chance to check his defined collarbones out, down to his toned leg muscles. Now he’s just admiring Daniel’s abs that he can probably play like a xylophone.

Realizing that he isn’t wearing anything but his boxers, Daniel quickly grabs the towel around his neck and covers his chest. He asks, “W-what are you doing here?”

Taking off his shoes and entering the house uninvited, Seongwoo passes a paper bag to Daniel and says, “Your chef coat.”

“How did you get hold of this? Minhyun hyung is supposed to--”

“He let me pass it to you so I could finally have a reason to see you again.” Seongwoo nonchalantly remarks, turning around to quirk an eyebrow at Daniel before sitting at the the breakfast counter. “After a whole day of begging, that is.”

Flustered, Daniel puts the bag on his couch before walking towards his kitchen where Seongwoo is sitting comfortably at. He asks, “A reason to see me?”

Seongwoo nods and shyly (or at least acting shyly) explains, “So I asked one of the other kitchen guys for your number, in which Park Woojin willingly gave me. But...I didn’t want to just shoot you a text or whatever. Thought I’d make a grand entrance into your life. Again.”

Daniel rolls his eyes as he pours a cup of juice. He slides it towards Seongwoo and asks, “So the first time was invading the kitchen I work at, and now my own home?”

“Like the charming prince that I am.” Seongwoo proudly says, bowing. “Anyways, I asked Minhyun about what to do and he said something about you leaving your coat behind, so  _naturally_  I begged him to let me pass it to you.”

Laughing lightly at how confident Seongwoo is, Daniel asks, “So now that you’re here, what’s your plan?”

A playful smile forms on Seongwoo’s lips when he replies, “How about some cooking?”

 

 

 

 

At home, Daniel still cooks a lot - whether it be to feed himself or to try out a new recipe. Sometimes he’d invite some friends over to try out whatever new concoction he came up with, in which the usuals are Jaehwan and Woojin. He treats cooking as his work as well as his pleasure - something he enjoys doing. After putting on some clothes, Daniel returns to the ktichen where Seongwoo is still at, greeting him with a smile. Daniel wasn’t planning on cooking anything complex today, but he finds himself rethinking his plans now that he has a handsome man in his kitchen who insists on cooking together.  _Do I strive to impress or..._

“Listen, I have next to zero cooking skills, so...” Seongwoo gestures towards Daniel as a whole, “let’s not cook a gourmet meal or anything.”

Daniel smiles as a dish immediately appears in his mind - his favorite simple one. Pulling aprons out of a cabinet, Daniel passes a blue one to Seongwoo and ties a pink one around his own waist. He says, “Don’t worry, I’ll teach you a simple dish.” 

Tying the apron around his slender waist, Seongwoo then hops on the kitchen counter and says, “I was actually imagining a situation where we fool around while we cook and end up ordering take out. Preferably something with lots of flour involved.”

Scoffing, Daniel pulls Seongwoo off the counter to open another cabinet for ingredients. “ _Not_  going to happen. But if it makes you feel any better, the dish does involve flour.”

“Then I’m a step closer to making the situation come true.” Seongwoo grins. 

The photographer watches as Daniel grabs some ingredients from the cabinet, extending his veiny arms. Seongwoo wants to grab a camera so badly, knowing that he’ll be able to easily turn this into a photoshoot, what with Daniel having no bad angles _at all_. Seongwoo stands behind Daniel, wishing the chef had remained shirtless so he can see the way his muscles move as he reaches for stuff from the top shelf.

“You could just admit it if you only came over so I’d cook for you.” Daniel turns around and laughs at how still Seongwoo is standing, watching him. 

“Would you really?” Seongwoo asks, tilting his head to one side.

Fiddling with the flour jar cover, Daniel shrugs. “Sure.”

Seongwoo giggles at how nice that would be, but walks over to stand beside Daniel and firmly says, “No. I came here so we could cook together.”

“But why?”

“I think it’s a good way to spend time with each other.”

“We could’ve gone for a dinner or something.”

“Where’s the fun in that?”

Daniel smiles at his logic and nods. “Good point. So you chose to come to my place and make me cook with you.”

“Aren’t I romantic?”

“The most.”

 

 

 

Okonomiyaki. It’s a Japanese-style pancake traditionally made from flour, egg, vegetables, and any kind of meat you prefer - then topped with okonomi sauce and fish flakes. But what it really is, is a dish where you can put whatever you like in it whether it be cheese and fish or only vegetables. It’s insanely simple and Daniel knows almost everyone will love it.

“Sounds fancy.”

“You’re only saying that because it’s Japanese.”

“True.”

“It’s basically just a whatever-you-want-it-to-be pancake.”

“Sounds like my kind of food.”

Smiling, Daniel is glad to hear the response and proceeds to take some fish out of the freezer to be thawed. He points at the fridge and orders Seongwoo to take out some vegetable, much like how he orders his kitchen assistants. Seongwoo obliges and takes out lettuce, spring onions, mushrooms, and such. He feels himself grow more and more excited for some reason, even though he hates cooking. He doesn’t  _hate_  hate cooking per se, but he hates that food can’t just magically appear when he’s hungry. 

“Can I trust you to chop up some vegetables?” Daniel asks, quirking an eyebrow.

Giving an offended scoff, Seongwoo answers, “What makes you think I can’t?”

He quickly proves himself wrong when Daniel pulls his knife drawer out and Seongwoo finds himself at a lost. _How can there be so many types of knives?_ He taps a finger against his lips, carefully considering his choice. He hovers over a rather large knife with the logic that it can cut many vegetables at once, but he looks up to see Daniel shaking his head. Seongwoo hovers his hand over a smaller knife, but Daniel still shakes his head. After hovering over 5 different knives, Seongwoo finally gets a nod from Daniel. It doesn’t look that much different from the other knives, but Seongwoo uses it anyway. He positions the spring onions carefully the way he sees chefs do on TV, feeling a little nervous. He has cut vegetables before, _obviously_. It’s just the sentiment of a rather attractive chef watching him do it that makes him nervous.

Before he could begin cutting, Daniel sighs and stops preparing the ingredients to walk over to him. “Do you want to chop your fingers as well?”

“But I cut like this all the time!”

“And have you ever accidentally cut your fingers?”

Unable to reply that with a ‘no’, Seongwoo rolls his eyes. “One too many times.”

Smiling too delightfully at this, Daniel stands behind Seongwoo and holds Seongwoo’s left hand and curls his fingers in as a way to shield his fingers from being accidentally cut. He then holds Seongwoo’s right hand that’s gripping the knife and positions it better. Biting his lip, Seongwoo can't help but enjoy the comfortable position of Kang Daniel reenacting that pottery scene from _Ghost_ with Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore. Oblovious of this, Daniel lets go once he's sure Seongwoo has his hands positioned perfectly. Seongwoo pouts at the absence of a warm embrace behind me. “You could’ve hugged me longer.”

“I wasn’t hugging you, I was-- just cut the spring onions, Seongwoo.” Daniel chuckles to himself and goes back to his side of the kitchen.

Seongwoo cuts the spring onions and notices how smooth it feels compared to the way he used to. He finds himself enjoying this simple activity, even wondering if he should chop vegetables more in the future. 

Finished with preparing the batter, Daniel turns to see Seongwoo doing a rather good job with his task. He grabs another chopping board and stands next to Seongwoo, slicing the salmon he plans to put in the okonomiyaki. He usually works at twice the speed Seongwoo is currently at, but chooses to do it slower because he enjoys the company. When he glances over at Seongwoo, his breath is taken away by how someone doing such a boring activity can look so good. Daniel doesn’t think he will ever get used to seeing such a beautiful profile. _It’s almost like Seongwoo is made of marble and sculpted--_

“Ow!” Daniel drops his knife, internally cussing himself for being too distracted by the handsome being next to him rather than slicing the salmon and not his finger.

“Are you okay?” Seongwoo immediately pulls Daniel’s finger to check on it. He isn’t even squeezing it but blood seeps through the fine cut, thanks to Daniel’s well sharpened knife. He looks up to see Daniel wincing at the sight of it. “I thought I’d be the first to spill blood here between the two of us. Expected more from you, Mr. Chef.”

Daniel could only shrug. “I’ve gone through worse.” Not thinking much, Seongwoo pulls the finger towards his lips, but Daniel holds back and shakes his head, “Don’t do what I think you’re about to do.”

Smiling, Seongwoo ignores Daniel’s protest and pulls the finger towards his lips again. Daniel doesn’t hold back this time, unable to break the eye contact between them as Seongwoo puts the wounded tip of Daniel’s finger between his lips. He could feel pressure against the cut as well as something wet coating it. He never paid attention to how it felt when he sucks his wounds, but he can’t help it when someone else is doing it to him.

“Where do you keep the band-aids?” Seongwoo asks, grabbing a tissue from the counter to dab at the finger. Daniel points at the cabinet under the sink, where the first aid kit is. Seongwoo squats by the cabinet and takes out a band-aid, peeling it to wrap around Daniel’s wound. Daniel feels like a 7-year old again, letting his mum treat his wounds when he fell off the skateboard. 

“Thanks.” Daniel blinks and looks away once his finger is bandaged well. Seongwoo watches as the chef’s ears turn red, satisfied at himself for causing that. 

 

 

 

 

Daniel puts a pan on the stove and starts cooking the salmon. Seongwoo steps back to watch and finds himself unable to hold himself back any longer. He may not have his camera with his right now, but he does have his phone. He takes his phone out and takes a picture of Daniel from the back. He takes pictures from every angle, with Daniel patiently ignoring him. Daniel begins pouring in the batter mixed with the vegetables and the pan sizzles even louder. He covers the pan with a lid and looks at his watch.

“I’ll have to flip this in-- oh my god.” Daniel’s attention is now towards the dark sky outside, a rain waiting to pour any second now. He scratches his head and groans. “My clothes aren’t even dry yet.”

Rushing to his balcony, Daniel collects his semi-dry laundry as Seongwoo stays in his spot, taking pictures of everything he does. He finds Daniel’s expression in everything he does to be amusing and adorable. In just one frame, he managed to capture Daniel’s annoyance and disappointment at the weather. A laugh escapes Seongwoo’s lips as he watches Daniel wobble his way back in with his hands full of his clothes.

“Can you watch the pan? It needs to be flipped in about 2 minutes or so.” Daniel yells out as he walks towards the laundry room down the hallway. Seongwoo dutifully nods and walks towards the stove. 

“Fuck, how do I flip this?” Seongwoo asks himself, staring at how the okonomiyaki looks quite unstable to be flipped. Taking a deep breath, he removes the lid and attempts to slide the spatula under the pancake, already predicting how this won’t end well.

“Step aside.” Daniel’s voice suddenly appears out of nowhere and orders him. Seongwoo quickly steps aside with the spatula in hand, glad to have escaped the duty. Daniel laughs at how nervous he looked and says, “Watch.”

With one hand steadily holding the pan handle, Daniel flicks his wrist and flips the okonomiyaki. It looks absolutely beautiful and Seongwoo knows that no matter how many times he practices it, it’ll never be as perfect. Seongwoo shakes his head when Daniel turns to him for a reaction. “Show off.”

“It’s my job.”

_**Ding dong!** _

The both of them turn to look at the door, as if they have x-ray vision to see who’s behind it. Daniel turns back towards the pan and asks Seongwoo, “I need to watch this because it burns easily. Can you get the door?”

Seongwoo walks towards the door and a warm feeling fills him over how domestic this seems. _We’re cooking together, he’s doing his laundry, I’m getting the door...is it too soon to ask if I could move in right now?_  Seongwoo chuckles at his own thoughts and opens the door. A delivery man is standing there with a box and asks, “Are you Kang Daniel-nim?”

“No, he’s cooking some fancy Japanese pancake. I’m his about-to-be boyfriend.” Seongwoo answers the deliveryman cheerfully.  _Shut up and just get the mail!_  Daniel yells in the background. The deliveryman couldn’t care less as he passes the paper to be signed. He hands the box over to Seongwoo and leaves.

Seongwoo returns to the kitchen to see Daniel putting the finished pancake on a plate and dressing it with some sauce and fish flakes. “Oh, you’re done?”

“Yeap! My okonomiyaki is done.” Daniel smiles brightly, holding up his meal proudly. 

“Hey, hey.” Seongwoo grabs the plate and holds a finger up to Daniel. “ _Our_  okonomiyaki. I didn’t spend hours slaving away chopping up vegetables for you to dismiss me.”

“It only took you 10 minutes.”

“Blood was shed.”

“Yeah,  _my_  blood!”

 

 

 

 

They end up on the couch together, watching a variety show playing on the TV. They share the okonomiyaki with Seongwoo eating most of it and repeating the fact that it’s delicious and he wants to eat it everyday. By the time the show ends and a drama plays, Seongwoo puts the empty plate down and turns to see Daniel fast asleep. 

“How does someone fall asleep so fast?” Seongwoo asks no one in particular. He admires the way Daniel’s head falls forward and wobbles a little. Seongwoo wants to let Daniel sleep on his shoulder, but gets a better idea instead. He slides further from his side of the couch and lies down, pulling Daniel with him. Daniel’s sleepy body obligingly follows him and lies almost on top of him. Seongwoo fails to weigh in the fact that Daniel is much bigger than him and they might not fit the couch, resulting in him being crushed. Thankfully, Daniel stirs in his sleep and wraps his arms around Seongwoo’s waist while burying his face in Seongwoo’s neck. It saves some space, but Seongwoo finds himself flustered at the fact that he has Daniel plastered on him. He puts his arms around Daniel and sighs, wondering how lucky he is that the day went well. He falls asleep soon after, accompanied by Daniel’s soft snoring.

 

 

 

 

To: Kang Daniel

From: Hwang Minhyun

_did ong the photographer come over to pass you your chef coat? i told him i could do it myself but he snatched the coat and ran out. he's so annoying lol i hope u received it_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> omg this is stupid n short but i just needed to write this. i make okonomiyaki quite often cos i'm a lazy college student so this is basically inspired by real life lmao


	3. omurice

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> i was on a vacation and didn't get to write much ddjfsdk SORRY but here goes a random impulsively written chapter after watching kang's kitchen and making my own omurice lmaooooo enjoy!

It has been a couple of months since Seongwoo fatefully met Daniel, but so much has happened since. The both of them graduated from their jobs to bigger things; Seongwoo was hired by a fashion magazine and Daniel scored a sous chef gig at a renowned restaurant. While things seem to be turning out well for them, they’ve also been a little too busy to see each other regularly. Seongwoo would be shooting models at odd hours and odd locations most days whereas Daniel has the unfortunate luck of having a stern and unforgiving main chef. Even so, they seem to return back to each other every time they’re having a hard time, finding comfort in the companionship. Whether it be countless bottles of soju as Daniel rants on about his mean boss or a short stroll at midnight under the barely visible Seoul stars, they cherish each moment they have with each other.

When Daniel appeared at his doorstep with a huge stain on the front of his chef coat and a miserable expression on his usually jovial face, Seongwoo pulled him in and gave him clean clothes. After a hot shower, Daniel explained that he quit his job after his temperamental main chef flipped a pan of cooking he deemed ‘unsatisfactory’ on him. Daniel wasn’t hurt, but it hit a switch in him he never knew he had - so he took his apron off dramatically and bolted away.  _ Don’t worry, I only had the guts to do that because Jisung hyung is opening his own restaurant soon _ , Daniel chuckled. 

And so it is true - Jisung’s sister and him pulled in their savings to open their own restaurant. Even though his friends at the catering company parted ways, a number of them immediately dropped whatever was on their plate in order to help Jisung. The first person he approached was obviously Daniel, who knew about this plan for some time now and called dibs on the chef position. Minhyun is already comfortable at the restaurant he’s currently working his way up in, but he still helped with the menu. Woojin and Jinyoung took up the sous chef offer without hesitation, glad to be working with familiar faces. A couple of new faces were hired to wait tables, as suggested by the rest.

Seongwoo helped with whatever he can, like taking pictures of the dishes for the menu and putting in some useless inputs about the dishes. The dishes are normal and the restaurant isn’t any different than the hundreds of others in Seoul, but Seongwoo thinks it might have the best looking staff. “What a waste for such a face to be cooped up in the kitchen.” he sighed.

“Would you rather I be in the hall greeting everyone?” Daniel asked.

Seongwoo thought about it for a while. He scoffed. “No.”

A few days before the opening, Jisung insists on a ‘full rehearsal’ where they cook the complex dishes and try to estimate how rushed it can get. Seongwoo is invited to pretend as a customer, along with one of the new waiters, a certain Park Jihoon. He is a starry-eyed boy who is on break from college, excited to have a way to make money.

“Are you a friend of Jisung hyung?” Jihoon asks him as the both of them wait in front of the restaurant lot, earlier than the staffs.

“No, I’m Daniel’s fri--boy...friend?” Confused by his own answer, Seongwoo could only hope Jihoon doesn’t ask further because even  _ he _ is unsure of where he is with Daniel.

The waiter nods and chooses not to pry further as a familiar car approaches the restaurant. Jisung exits the car and asks them to help carrying some of the newly bought ingredients in. Seongwoo and Jihoon diligently does as told, even going as far as to help Jisung organize them in the kitchen and the pantry.

“I’m here!” A voice greets the three of them. A delighted expression forms on Seongwoo’s face upon seeing Daniel in a more casual outfit since this is only a rehearsal. Jisung does momentarily argue that Daniel should be dressed in a proper chef outfit, but he gives the boy a break. Daniel passes by Seongwoo on the way to wash his hands and gives him a knowing smile.

Soon, Woojin and Jinyoung arrive as well and Jisung starts the rehearsal with a ring of the tiny bell placed at the counter. Daniel puts on an apron and is happy to return back to wearing a towel as his head wrap. Seongwoo leaves the kitchen to start his role as the ‘customer’ and sits at the hall, but he sees Daniel from a distance, mouthing  _ do I look okay? _

Seongwoo chuckles and nods before muttering to himself, “You look okay in anything, idiot.”

“Can I take your order?” Clutching on his heart out of shock, Seongwoo is startled but sighs in relief when he looks up to see a smiling Jihoon. The menu is set in front of him, graced with pictures taken by Seongwoo himself. Perusing it proudly, Seongwoo takes his time to choose. Jihoon adds, “Jisung wants them to make something hard, by the way.”

“I’ll have the galbi then.” Seongwoo decides, as if Jisung hadn’t told him earlier that they’re going to cook exactly that. Before Jihoon walks away, Seongwoo adds, “O-oh, and an omurice. Daniel makes the best omurice.”

Giving a knowing wink, Jihoon then nods and leaves with the menu. Seongwoo chirpily waits and tries to sneak a peek at what’s happening in the kitchen. He sees everyone walking around, trying to get a feel of the kitchen that is smaller than a hotel’s or a fancier restaurant’s. He hears Daniel’s voice telling them the plan and the distribution of work, an authoritative but calming voice. He did say he will never be a tough and nagging main chef, but rather one that the rest can depend on. 

The rehearsal goes well, what with Jihoon discovering that he can carry multiple plates at once. He even joined Seongwoo in eating the dishes (he ate a bigger portion than Seongwoo, but the latter let it be since he looked rather hungry). Seongwoo feels bad for having to leave early for a shoot he’s booked for that evening, but Minhyun and Sungwoon came to replace him. Before he left, Seongwoo popped his head into the kitchen to tell Daniel, but decided against it since the chef was busy trying to figure out a way to speed up the stew process. He left a text instead, _ the food was great! Send my compliments to the chef ;) _

  
  


 

 

 

The photoshoot ends late into the night once they’ve gotten enough photos of the model in multiple outfits and posing with trees. Seongwoo decides that he has gotten one too many mosquito bites and is relieved to go home. When the model’s manager is exchanging business cards, Seongwoo checks the pockets of his outfit to find that he left his card holder at the restaurant. Guanlin, who he roped in with him to this new gig since the younger proves to be a valuable asset, offers to go take it for him but Seongwoo decides to get it himself since it’s on the way home anyways. 

Seongwoo pulls out his phone to check the time - which is way past Jisung’s rehearsal hours. He texts him to ask if he can retrieve the card holder, which then brings him to notice that Daniel never replied to his text. This is weird because even if it takes hours, Daniel would immediately reply to his texts once he gets a break from work. What’s weirder is the fact that Daniel didn’t even read his text.

_ go ahead, Daniel is still there  _

Jisung’s short reply is enough to cause a certain bubble of worry to arise in the pit of Seongwoo’s stomach. Getting into his car, Seongwoo drives a little faster so he can drop Guanlin at his home and then head towards the restaurant immediately. By his calculations, Daniel would’ve been in the kitchen for almost 12 hours now, which is pretty insane. 

The area is still lively at night, which is great for business but horrible for parking. Seongwoo parks somewhere further and quickly makes his way to the restaurant, barely even checking if he locked his car. 

A slight relief reaches Seongwoo when he sees that Daniel is not in the kitchen and is sitting at one of the tables in the dimly lit hall. In his hand is Seongwoo’s card holder, which he fiddles with anxiously as he stares into space. Seongwoo carefully walks towards him and softly greets, “Hey?”

Snapped out of his trance, the usual smile graces Daniel’s face before he replies with a soft  _ hey _ .

Seongwoo sits next to him and asks, “Why are you still here?”

“I wanted to make sure I had everything perfect.”

“I’m sure everything’s perfect.”

“How would you know.”

“Because it’s you.”

Scratching the back of his neck, Daniel slumps his head on the table and sighs. He faces Seongwoo’s direction and mutters, “Have you eaten?”

Realizing that he was too engrossed with the shoot that he had forgotten to eat, Seongwoo shakes his head. “Have you eaten at all today?”

Daniel shakes his head as well. “But I was tasting the food we cooked all day.”

“That isn’t enough, Niel-ah.”

“Let’s cook something together then.”

The usual flutters Seongwoo feels in his heart whenever he’s with Daniel revisits him once more. He is reminded of their first ‘date’ where he basically barged in the house and forced Daniel to cook with him. Chuckling, Seongwoo asks, “Okonomiyaki again?”

“No,” Daniel stands up and takes Seongwoo’s hand to drag him back into the kitchen, “you ordered omurice earlier right? Let me teach you how to make it.”

Excited, Seongwoo follows him into the kitchen and receives an apron to wear himself. Daniel lets him wear the proper head wrap that Daniel is supposed to use when the restaurant operates, a black one that fits Seongwoo perfectly. The photographer is placed at the chopping station, where Daniel assigns him his usual vegetable-chopping duties. Daniel begins preparing the fried rice using the leftover rice from today, looking more visibly relaxed compared to earlier. 

“That looks good,” Daniel’s words are spoken a little too close to Seongwoo’s ears as he successfully chops up the vegetables (thanks to the helpful tutorial the first time). The chef grabs the board of vegetables and pours it in with the rice he’s frying. He turns back to Seongwoo and asks, “Can you grill some of the meat we have left?”

Grinning, Seongwoo answers, “ _ That _ I can do.”

Taking the spot next to Daniel with a pan of his own, Seongwoo calmly grills the leftover meat as he has done a hundred times before at the BBQ restaurants he regularly visits. Standing next to Daniel, he finally knows what it’s like to be a chef in the kitchen. It’s hot and occasionally stressful when there’s too much to cook, but the aromatic smell of food helps. 

Daniel turns to face Seongwoo as well, startling the photographer a little but it makes the both of them laugh. As they simultaneously turn their attention back to the food they’re cooking, multiple thoughts enter their minds.

“You know earlier…” Seongwoo steadily brings up the topic that has plagued his thoughts all day, “I accidentally told Jihoon that you’re...my boyfriend.”

Carefully inspecting Daniel’s face to check his reaction, Seongwoo waits nervously. Daniel quirks an eyebrow and asks, “Jihoon?”

“...the new waiter?”

“Oh, that guy.” Daniel chuckles. “He ate the most today.”

A few seconds of silence ensues, deepening the anxiety brewing in Seongwoo’s mind. Cautiously, he asks, “So...is that okay?”

Turning to look at Seongwoo with a confused expression, Daniel replies, “Why wouldn’t it be?”

“I don’t know, we’ve never talked about it.”

Lifting the pan aside to pour the rice onto a plate, Daniel then grabs a couple of eggs and pours it in the pan. His silence worries Seongwoo a little, but he takes it as Daniel focusing on his cooking. The chef uses a chopstick to beat the eggs lightly and finally sighs before muttering, “So what was that kiss all about?”

“T-the kiss?” The memory of Daniel and him stargazing on top of his car enters Seongwoo’s mind, creeping in like it never left. They were both tired from working all day and the cool summer night felt therapeutic as they discuss the kinds of aliens existing at the same time as them. Just as Daniel was getting into creating his imaginary alien race, Seongwoo asked if he could kiss him. Daniel said he thought he’d never ask. And so they kissed. It was a short and innocent kiss, which is why Seongwoo never brought it up the next time they met. It felt magical to him, but he was afraid Daniel might’ve taken it as just another kiss.

Giving a small nod, Daniel adds, “On top of your car.”

“Of course,” Seongwoo mutters, lost for words. “I mean...I never asked how you felt about it.”

“I thought it sealed the deal for us.” Daniel’s cheeks turn red as he focuses on his omelette. He turns the stove off and puts the egg on top of the fried rice. He looks at Seongwoo’s pan and says, “The meat looks c-cooked.”

Amused by how flustered Daniel is, Seongwoo lets him take the pan to put the meat in another plate. Hurriedly, Daniel grabs both plates and heads towards the hall. Seongwoo takes the apron off and follows behind him with a satisfied smile.

“God, I’m actually hungry.” Daniel mutters as he places the plates on the table. Giving Seongwoo a set of cutleries, he says, “You can dig in first, hyung.”

Scoffing in fake disbelief, Seongwoo retorts, “You must eat first. I can’t let  _ my boyfriend _ starve.”

The red on his cheeks and ears intensifies as Daniel clears his throat. He takes the first scoop of rice and mumbles, “Shut up.”

They talk and eat for the next half an hour, comfortable in each other’s presence and forgetting the stressful day. Seongwoo then drives him home and goes as far as to send him right to his front door. Holding his hand, Daniel gives him a look that would’ve been interpreted as ‘do you want to eat ramen?’ on any other day, but is interpreted as ‘let’s fall asleep together’ tonight. Seongwoo doesn’t need a second to think before he’s kicking his shoes off and following Daniel into the house.

After they’ve both settled in bed with tired eyes, they turn to face each other with weak smiles. Seongwoo whispers loud enough for him, “Can I kiss you again?”

Struggling to keep his eyes open, Daniel nods. Inching closer on the bed, Seongwoo gently pulls Daniel’s face closer and plants a soft kiss on the forehead. Confused, Daniel asks, “That’s all?”

Seongwoo smiles at how Daniel has his eyes closed but is still asking for more. The photographer leans in again and kisses him on the lips, making it last longer than the last time. Even though their eyes are closed because they’re tired and not because they’re engrossed in the kiss, their lazy lips still manage to move rhythmically against each other. A little playful, Daniel softly bites Seongwoo’s bottom lip before letting go and giggling. Their hands find its way on each other’s bodies, with Seongwoo’s hands in Daniel’s fluffy hair and Daniel’s hands slung lazily on Seongwoo’s hips.

“I like it like this.” Daniel sleepily mumbles against Seongwoo’s lips. He presses another gentle kiss and adds, “I like you.”

Trying his best to reply the kiss with his own before sleep takes over, Seongwoo smiles against his lips. “I like you more.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> the lazy kisses at the end was inspired by a video of two cats doing exactly that sjkksfhks
> 
> my twt @ is defseongwoo and my cc, if u wanna drop prompts or scream about ongniel, is curiouscat.me/ganjanamja

**Author's Note:**

> i clearly don't know how kitchens work so please don't kill me
> 
> also the towel tied on his head thing is an actual thing daniel did in the show 'it's dangerous outside the blanket' and it made me feel things so!!! yes 
> 
> i'm on twt @ defseongwoo!


End file.
